Ski binding



March 25, 1952 A. GOODMAN SKI BINDING 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Jan. 5,1948 Donald A. Goodman INVENTOR.

March 25, 1952 Filed Jan. 5, 1948 D. A. GOODMAN 2,590,097

SKI BINDING 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 llllliflm Donald A. Goodman INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SKI BINDING Donald A.Goodman, McCall, Idaho Application January 5, 1948, Serial No. 484

'7 Claims.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in skibindings for holding a ski boot or shoe on a ski.

More specifically, the invention embodies the provision of an endlesscable or rope loosely carried by the ski and extending across the toeand heel portions of a boot to firmly hold the boot in position on theski.

An important object of the invention is to provide cable tighteningmeans including, a pivoted lever to easily and quickly tighten the cableabout the boot.

Another object of the invention is to provide guides for the cable ateach side of the ski and arranged to exert a downward pulling force atthe toe and heel portions of the boot to hold the boot in position.

A further object is to provide adjustable means for the cable accordingto the size of boot or shoe secured thereby.

A still further object is to construct the cable tightening means withan elastic section adapted to yield to strain subjected to the cable andarranged, when subjected to excessive strain, to release the cabletightening lever and to free the boot from the ski to prevent injury toa skier should a dangerous situation arise.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character ofsimple and practical construction, which is strong and durable,efiicient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive tomanufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which thesame is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein likenumerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view with parts broken away and shown in section.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the adjustingmeans for the cable.

Figure 4 is a similar view illustrating a modified adjustmentconstruction.

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 5-5 of Figure 4,and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the automatic releasingaction of the cable tightening lever.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose ofillustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention,the numeral 5 designates a flexible cable having a flexible metalcovering 6.

One end of the cable is connected to an expansible coil spring 1 bymeans of an externally threaded tubular connector 8 threaded in the endof the spring I and having a wrench engaging outer portion 9. An annulargroove I0 is formed in the connector 8 outwardly of the polygonalportion 9 and in which an internal flange II at one end of an adjustingnut I2 is rotatably received, the nut l2 being internally threaded forthreaded engagement with the cover 6 of the cable.

A cable tightener designated generally at [3 includes an arcuatechannel-shaped lever I4 pivoted at one end to the outer end of thespring 7 by means of a connector [5 secured in the spring and having atransverse pin I6 to which the bifurcated end i! of the lever ispivotally attached.

A pair of links l8 are pivoted above and below the lever I4 and projectforwardly thereof and are pivotally connected at their front ends to asubstantially T-shaped connector l9 secured to the other end of thecable 5, the cable, with its ends connected to the ends of the spring 1provides an endless flexible member with portions of the cablepositioned at the opposite sides of a ski 20 and slidably engaged inhook-shaped guides 2| secured to the sides of the ski.

The cable and spring thus provide a ski binding with its front portionencased in a rubber tubing 22 for engaging the top of a shoe or bootsole 23 at the toe portion thereof and with the spring I at the rear ofthe binding engaged behind the heel 24 of the shoe or boot.

The binding, at its front and rear end, extends upwardly from the guides2! as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings whereby to exert a downwardpulling force on the boot or shoe to thus firmly hold the same on thetop of the ski.

By swinging the lever l4 rearwardly, the cable 5 is tightened, the linksl8 being swingable inwardly of the pivot I6 for the lever whereby tolock the lever in its tightened or closed position.

By swinging the lever l4 forwardly, the cable 5 is released to disengagethe binding from the boot or shoe.

Should the cable 5'be subjected to excessive strain, such as by thetwisting of the ski, the spring I will stretch to a point where theforward movement of the spring will straighten the end of the spring atthe side of the ski and cause the lever to swing outwardly from thedotted line position to the full line position as shown in Figure 6,past the center of its pivot l6 into its open position and thus releasethe'boot or shoe from the ski to prevent injury to the skier.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of thedrawings, a modified connection between the spring 25 and cable 26 isprovided and includes sleeves 21 spaced longitudinally at the adjacentend of the cable to provide a groove 28 between adjacent sleeves and theexternally threaded connector 29 attached to the spring receives thesleeves and the cable and is provided with a transverse opening 30 toreceive a fork-shaped locking key 3! to enter the groove 28 and lock thecable in its longitudinally adjusted position in the spring.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of theconstruction, operation and advantages of the device will be quiteapparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description isaccordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by thespirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is;

l. A ski binding comprising an endless flexible member including elasticand inelastic sections adapted for placing over the toe and heelportions respectively of a ski boot, guide means carried by a ski onwhich the boot is placed, said guide means being positioned adjacent thetoe and heel portions of the boot and engaging the flexible member toexert a downward pulling force on both the toe and heel portions of theboot, and a tightening device for said flexible member, said tighteningdevice comprising a lever pivoted to one end of the elastic section anda link connecting the lever to the adjacent end of the inelasticsection, said lever being swingable inwardly to move the link beyond thepivot of the lever to lock the lever in its tightening position.

2. A ski binding comprising an endless flexible member including elasticand inelastic sections adapted for placing over the toe and heelportions respectively of a ski boot, guide means carried by a ski onwhich the boot is placed, said guide means being positions adjacent thetoe and heel portions of the boot and engaging the flexible member toexert a downward pulling force on both the toe and heel portions of theboot, and a tightening device for said flexible member, said tighteningdevice comprising a lever pivoted to one end of the elastic section anda link connecting the lever to the adjacent end of the inelasticsection, said lever being swingable inwardly to move the link beyond thepivot of the lever to lock the lever in its tightening position, saidlever being automatically released upon a predetermined stretching forcesubjected to the elastic member.

3. A ski binding comprising an endless flexible member including elasticand inelastic sections, means at the side edges of the ski securing themember thereto adjacent the toe and heel portions of a ski boot placedthereon and with the inelastic section positioned at opposite sides ofthe ski and across the toe of the ski boot and i h ti elastic sectionextending behind the heel o the boot, and a tightening device connectinone end of the elastic section to one end of the inelastic section tostretch the flexible member circumferentially about the boot, saidsecuring means exerting a downward pull on the flexible member at itstoe and heel portions.

4. A ski binding comprising an endless flexible member including elasticand inelastic sections, means at the side edges of the ski securing themember thereto adjacent the toe and heel portions of a ski boot placedthereon and with the inelastic section positioned at opposite sides ofthe ski and across the toe of the ski boot and with the elastic sectionextending behind the heel of the boot, and a tightening deviceconnecting one end of the elastic section to one end of the inelasticsection to stretch the flexible member circumferentially about the boot,said securing means comprising guides slidably receiving the flexiblemember and positioned with respect to the boot to exert a downwardpulling force on the toe and heel engaging portions of said mem ber.

5. A ski binding comprising an endless flexible member including elasticand inelastic sections adapted for placing circumierentially around aski boot and over the toe and heel portions respectively thereof, meansadjustably connecting one end oi said sections to each other, tighteningmeans connecting the other ends of said sections to each other, andmeans connecting the flexible member to a ski adjacent the toe and heelportions of the boot and arranged to exert a downward pulling force atthe toe and heel engaging portions of the flexible member.

A ski binding comprising a flexible member adapted for placingcircumferentially around a ski boot and over the toe and heel portionsthereof to hold the latter on a ski, tightening means for the flexiblemember, and means carried by the ski adjacent the toe and heel portionsof the boot and engaging the flexible member to exert a downward pullingforce on the toe and heel engagin portion of said flexible member.

"I. A ski binding comprising an endless flexible member includingelastic and inelastic sections adapted for placing over the toe and heelportions respectively of a ski boot, guide means carried by a ski onwhich the boot is placed, said guide means being positioned adjacent thetoe and heel portions of the boot and engaging the flexible member toexert a downward pulling force on both the toe and heel portions of theboot, and a tightening device connecting the elastic and inelasticsections of the flexible member to each other.

DONALD A. GOODMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the die ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

